After a good night's rest, Zhou Chenyu got up early, intending to tie her hair into a neat bun as usual, and then insert a wooden hairpin. But today, for some reason, her hands were cursed, and she couldn't tie her hair into a bun no matter what she tried.
Li Xiuju finished making breakfast and, seeing that Zhou Chenyu hadn't come out yet, walked over and saw her grabbing her hair and pulling at her scalp. She smiled and said, "It's just combing your hair, why are you getting angry with yourself? Let your mother do it."
Li Xiuju walked behind Zhou Chenyu and combed her hair behind her ears. Zhou Chenyu couldn't see behind her, but she felt Li Xiuju grab her hair. "Just do it casually."
“Since you’re going to work for a wealthy family, combing your hair will make you look more presentable. I’ll braid your hair and tie it up with a hairpin so it won’t fall out.”
After Li Xiuju finished speaking, she glanced at Zhou Chenyu's face. Zhou Chenyu felt her head swaying with her hair, but her scalp wasn't hurt, and it felt quite comfortable.
She sat there and started to feel sleepy again. After she finished yawning, Li Xiuju walked up to her and looked at her with the satisfaction of an old mother. "What a pretty girl."
pretty?
Zhou Chenyu bit her lip, unable to find a mirror to look at herself, and reached out to touch the black hair behind her ear that was rolled into a bun with a wooden hairpin. A tuft of long hair was deliberately left at the bottom of the bun. "Grandma, why don't you roll up this part of your hair as well?"
"Don't move." Li Xiuju removed Zhou Chenyu's hand, walked to the window, picked a pink wild rose from the tree, tucked it behind Zhou Chenyu's ear, and lifted her chin, smiling contentedly.
"You usually like to curl your hair up for convenience, making you look like a young boy. Now, leaving a tuft of dark hair down your back is both clever and graceful. How nice! This way, you look more like a girl."
Zhou Chenyu raised an eyebrow. She thought to herself that it would be good enough if she could even tie her hair into a bun. Before, she would never comb her hair before going to work. She would wash up, put on makeup, scratch her hair, and rush to catch the subway.
Should we add another flower now?
"Hehe, it looks beautiful." Zhou Chenyu smiled sweetly and properly. After breakfast, she took care of the flowers as soon as she left the village.
When she arrived in the city, the servants arranged by Feng Chuli were already waiting for her.
Zhou Chenyu led her people to several nearby grocery stores to compare prices and quality, but had no choice but to go back to the store where she bought the ingredients yesterday.
This shop has a complete range of products, and the quality is really good, but unfortunately the owner is a stingy person who won't budge on the price.
The shop owner, who was sitting in a chair sipping tea with his lips pursed, saw Zhou Chenyu and remembered the price negotiation he had spent talking until his throat was dry yesterday. Knowing that she was not a big customer, he asked in a perfunctory manner, "Miss, what do you want to buy today?"
Under the old man's watchful eye, Zhou Chenyu leisurely strolled around the room, then looked at the old man with a smile, "Shopkeeper, to be honest, the things I bought here yesterday were all quite good, so today I'm thinking of buying fifty catties of each item."
"Fifty catties?!" The old man was so shocked he almost dropped his teeth. Zhou Chenyu quickly gained the upper hand, "Yes, fifty catties, for Master Tang's housewarming banquet. Can you supply it?"
Everyone knew that the Tang family would be holding a housewarming banquet in three days. Upon suddenly receiving this large order, the old man's expression immediately changed; his smile stretched almost to his ears, and he beamed with enthusiasm as he said:
“Young lady, I didn’t expect you to have such excellent taste at such a young age! Our shop is the largest general store in Qingshui Town. If I can’t supply it, no other place can either. Young lady, I will definitely get you what you need.”
Zhou Chenyu noticed the old man's attitude had completely changed. Sure enough, when people have money, the world becomes a better place.
She looked at him meaningfully and reminded him, "Shopkeeper, since I'm buying so much, shouldn't you shortchange me by one or two coins for each item?"
The shrewd old man's smile suddenly changed. After meeting Zhou Chenyu's eyes, he smiled bitterly and said with embarrassment, "Young lady, look at me, I'm so old, one foot is already in my grave. It's not easy for me to earn money! If I'm short even a copper coin or two for anything, it'll cost me my life, young lady."
If Zhou Chenyu hadn't seen the jade ring on his hand and the jade pendant on his waist, she would have almost believed his nonsense. "He really is a real miser."
The old man pretended not to hear, "Young lady, what did you say?"
Feng Chuli had no upper limit on the budget for preparing ingredients; he used everything in the best way possible, and spending any amount of money was not a problem.
Since the shopkeeper refused to budge, Zhou Chenyu saw no need to make things unpleasant and took the initiative to back down, smiling as she said, "Alright, let's prepare the goods then."
I've already ordered the white fungus, red beans, and goji berries, but I haven't ordered the mugwort yet. However, unlike red beans and white fungus, mugwort can't be stored for many days. In particular, mugwort that has been wet will rot in less than two days, so it's best to pick and use it on the same day.
Zhou Chenyu strolled through the market and found only two elderly people with gray hair displaying mugwort, and the quantity was small, enough to supply only two or three households.
This is not surprising, though. In the countryside, mugwort is like a wild vegetable; you can find it in the wild if you want to eat it. Only a few wealthy families buy it.
The servant looked at the vast market, but there was no mugwort. "Miss Zhou, what should we do?"
Artemisia argyi.
Isn't there one in the wasteland of the white houses in Zhoujia Village?
"Let's go back first!"
Upon returning to the Tang residence, Zhou Chenyu quickly consulted the two stewards in the kitchen, reported to Feng Chuli, and after receiving permission, she immediately ran home.
Li Xiuju was sitting in the courtyard weaving cages when she saw Zhou Chenyu looking anxious. She asked worriedly, "What happened?"
"I have something very important to ask for your help with!" Zhou Chenyu explained the whole situation to her. Li Xiuju's furrowed brows relaxed, and she smiled, "Just picking mugwort? That's easy, isn't it?"
"I estimate I'll need about two baskets of mugwort a day, which would be six baskets in three days. Do you have that much?"
Li Xiuju started weaving cages and selling sweet soup. She didn't know anything about doing business, but if you asked her where in the village there was mugwort or wild vegetables, no woman would not know.
She looked exceptionally relaxed. "Mugwort grows not only in the wasteland of the white house, but also by the stream where we wash clothes, near the vegetable garden, and at the foot of the mountain behind our vegetable garden. There's so much of it that you can't possibly pick it all!"
Zhou Chenyu plopped down, "That's great!"
Li Xiuju rarely had a chance to use her skills, so in order to reduce Zhou Chenyu's troubles, she thought of doing everything herself. "During the days of the banquet, Mother and Baoyu will go out in the morning to pick the tenderest leaves. Once we have collected two baskets, Baoyu will personally deliver them to you. Don't worry!"
Zhou Chenyu nodded vigorously, "Yes, with you and Baoyu as my strong support, I'm at ease! It's settled then!"
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